A prudent person foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and suffer -- Proverbs 22:3

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Technology, Gatekeepers, and Narratives

You've probably heard about the alleged journalistic who was traumatized by his close encounter with an AR-type rifle. Others have done a far better job mocking him than I ever could -- a good example is here.

I'm not really interested in that right now. What I think is interesting is how time, technology, the internet, social media, etc., have caught up with the statists and their fourth estate allies.

Back in the late '90s and early '00s, I sensed that the right was a little out in front on the internet. Talk radio was still a big factor, and the right dominated that. Fox was coming to the fore as a conservative media alternative. Bush rode that into the White House. Dan Rather and his crew never imagined that some guy on the Free Republic aggregator would expose their fraud on the Bush National Guard story.

The iPhone helped change the dynamic, as did Fakebook, Twitter, et al. The more sophisticated technology allowed those who were actually less tech savvy better access and wider audience. The left made much better use of the Big Data concept than the right.

Libertarians, conservatives, alt-right, whatever you call us -- I think we are back in the game. We have a lot more anarchy in the cybersphere these days, and I think that is good. There are crazy people out there, but their craziness eventually gets exposed.

Big Media still thinks of itself as the gatekeeper. Ten years earlier, Dan Rather would have gotten away with his bogus documents. Not that long ago, the hysterics of the journalist noted above -- I can't even bring myself to type his name without making a crude joke, so I'll pass -- would have gotten much more play and been taken seriously by some. These days, individuals get to talk back to such clowns.

There are pictures all over the internet and social media of little girls firing AR-type weapons -- which are better described as Modern Sporting Rifles, MSRs. None of them are crying or acting like they've just seen the Hindenburg go down. Far fewer people are going to buy this BS.

I sincerely hope this continues. Big Media and Big Government hate individualism. They are threatened by people who can think for themselves and who are wise enough to rely on themselves, their families and communities. I hope and I pray that technology will help us recognize how little we need a massive central government, how inefficient and ineffective it is, how corrupt it already is and how easily it is corrupted further.

Neither of our major political parties wants us to see the truth. None of the networks want us to realize how easily we can dispense with them. A local reporter that does his or her job can now have a national or international audience. "Going viral" with smart phone video is better than having a spot on NBC. We don't need the gatekeepers. We don't need their agendas, their activism or their censorship. We can find out for ourselves.

Quotables

The true Christian should not resign himself to the inevitable: he should trust in the impertinence of a repeated prayer. -- Don Colacho

Political tags — such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth — are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort. -- Robert A. Heinlein

When law and morality are in contradiction, the citizen finds himself in the cruel dilemma of either losing his moral sense or of losing respect for the law -- Bastiat

The tank, the B-52, the fighter-bomber, the state-controlled police and military are the weapons of dictatorship. The rifle is the weapon of democracy.

If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military. The hired servants of our rulers.

Only the government -- and a few outlaws.

I intend to be among the outlaws.--Edward Abbey from “The Right to Arms”

Followers

About Me

Disclaimer

All material presented here is intended solely for the entertainment of the author and like-minded readers. No statements by the author should be considered as professional advice of any kind. Material quoted and linked is provided without endorsement. Readers assume all responsibility with regard to the use or abuse of information presented on this site.